


Player Two

by KestrelShrike



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, Fluff, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 21:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12639735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KestrelShrike/pseuds/KestrelShrike
Summary: Someone on Tumblr asked me what Kandros would do for Ryder if he knew she was feeling especially stressed. This is what I came up with. Let me know what you think!





	Player Two

Crash and burn. It was inevitable but it wasn’t welcome. Ryder fought against the feeling for as long as she could, pushing past her limits and then some, until it felt as if she was simply going through the motions of life rather than being an active participant. 

The colonies weren’t independent yet, heaping their concerns on her every day. The kett threatened to attack, and if not the kett, outsiders from the Nexus revolt that had happened before she even arrived. The krogan were rumbling at her presence, not wanting to help her activate the vault on her planet. To top it all off, Tann still didn’t have faith in her as Pathfinder. Wren Ryder followed in the footsteps of her father, unable to keep up no matter how hard she tried. 

There was no time for a break. A game of volleyball with Liam in the sand was allowable, but anything longer than an hour for herself felt like an impossible luxury. She tried to send emails back to Tiran Kandros, but each felt shorter than the last. How could she say how much she missed him? Another thing she couldn’t do. 

Something of how she felt must have leaked through Ryder’s messages anyway. Kandros was waiting for her when the Tempest docked, hovering outside the doors so that he was the first thing she saw as they cycled open. 

Folding into his arms and allowing herself to just sag for a moment, Ryder mumbled into his chest armor, “I missed you, Tiran.” God, it felt good, even though they tried to keep their relationship quiet, making it look like it was strictly business, at least on the surface. For the space of three slow human heartbeats, she felt almost safe. 

“Missed you too, Wren.” Wolf whistles from the departing crew let Ryder know that they were no longer alone; their windows of time together were all too brief. Right now, she had a list of tasks as long as both her arms outstretched, which meant she would have to say goodbye to him as soon as she had said hello, and was already pulling away with a look of regret when Kandros put his hand on her shoulder, stilling her. 

“Not just yet. You’re going on a break.” 

“I can’t afford that and you know it. Tann will chew out my ass, and my to-do list is already a million items long. I appreciate the thought but-” and then she was cut off, hoisted over one of Kandros’ shoulder easily, fists pounding feebly against his back. “Put me down!” she yelled, though her heart wasn’t in it and she gave up on the struggle quickly, content to fold her arms and simply huff. 

Humming something vaguely military but largely tuneless, Kandros carried Ryder back to his quarters, giving an amiable nod to the people walking by, most of whom did a double take, and then a triple one just to be safe. Putting on a winning smile, Ryder gave a pageant wave to each and every one. “I paid a lot for this.” She could feel Kandros rumble as he spoke, vibration warming her in ways she didn’t want to think about. 

“Paid for what?” It was difficult to stay annoyed at him, and dangling there, it was the lightest she had felt in weeks.   
Without replying, Kandros opened the door to his small apartment, a familiar sight by now. There was a large open space that served as kitchen, dining room, and living room, and then a small bedroom and bathroom after that. Small was a relative term- everything had been sized for a turian, which meant that Ryder couldn’t reach the top shelves and that her feet dangled when she sat on the couch. 

But there was something new in the equation now. On the vidscreen, a game was paused. 

Ready player two? 

“You didn’t.” Her feet back on the ground, Ryder dashed forward, throwing herself on the couch with abandon, picking up the controller laid out carefully on the small coffee table. “You did. It’s real. How? Who?” She wanted to unpause the game badly, but looked over to see Kandros grinning as broadly as his mandibles would allow, a chuckle leaking out of him and devolving into a full-hearted laugh. 

More carefully than Ryder had done, Kandros seated himself on the couch, one hand picking up the other controller and the other arm snaking around her shoulders, pulling her close. “I may have pulled a few strings.” 

“How did you know I liked this?” 

“Ryder, even turians like racing games.” Unpausing the game, an image of brightly colored racing vessels stretching across the Milky Way, captained by a plumber and his friends, flickered. “What do I get if I beat you?” Mischief was writ into every bone plate. 

“IF you beat me… Well, let’s see.” There was no way in hell Kandros was beating her. For the first time in weeks, maybe months, Ryder felt her body truly relax, body fair melting into the couch.

Player two is ready.


End file.
